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Adverse Possession: Continuous and Exclusive Possession for the Statutory Period

This lesson focuses upon the requirements that claims of adverse possession must be exclusive and continuous (without interruption) for the applicable statutory period. This lesson should assist students to understand the following: the rationales behind these requirements and how they relate to the other elements of the common law adverse possession rule; how to distinguish "exclusive" possession from "nonexclusive" possession; what conduct by the possessor or the true owner is sufficient to interrupt the continuity of possession; the extent to which successive periods of adverse possession may be "tacked" together to satisfy the applicable statutory period; and the extent to which the applicable statutory period may be "tolled" (thereby preventing the statutory period from running against the true owner).